Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-02
ILLINOIS VENDETTA.
An Old Feud Of Ten Years Standing
Breaks Out Thirteen Dead
Men with Boots Or
L Desperate Fight at a Danes. the Lights
Out, Two Corpsss on the EIoor-A
Series of Assassinations.
A DECADE OF BLooDsHED.

ELIZABETHTowN, ILL, Nov. 25-The
Hardin county vendetta which threatened
| to depopulate two counties few months
ago, has broken out again and two more
desperate members have been rushed
| hence without having an opportunity to
remove their boots. The cemetery rec
| ord shows totsl Of thirteen killed, five
! of whom have taken their departure this
| year. Ten years ago Logan
Bell, desperate character, shot and
! killed Doe Oldham at dance N
the Oldham homestead Both were among
the most prominent families in the county
snd the excitement reached high pitch.
The community took sides, and when
Wash Covert, a witness for the prosecu-
| ton, was laid low with a charge Of buck
shot the trouble began. Luke HOrnbrink,
who was connected with the Oldham fac
| ton, was
AssAssINATED ON HIS DOOR STEP.
Old mau Bell was soon after shot from
ambush and killed. Logan Bell was sent
to the peritentiary for the killing Of Doe
Oldham and Bill Fraley went up for the
shooting of Covert. During the trial
kuRluX organization, OF which Bell was
captain and which contained some CT the
best men in the county, WAS exposed.
This band was called the "Sons
Of Liberty" and its ostensible
object WAS to CIRCULATE citizens"
While Bell and Fraley were In the peni.
Tertiary, q couple of men were killed on
each side. After they were released Bell
was indicted for the assassination of
Hornbrink and was tried last spring ana
acquitted. Three weeks later he was
shot dead from ambush. Two weeks after
Captain Logan Bells death, his brother
Jim Bell was shot and killed at the same
spot, "csve in the rock" These
assassinations produced great consterna-
ton and the friends of the Bell faction,
among whom was Earl Sherwood and
others, received orders to emigrate and
they
MOVED INTO AN ADJOINING COUNTY.
Then Judge Hess of the Circuit court,
who presided at Bells trial, YVES threat
eDed with death if be did not leave. He
armed himself and is still here. Lsst
Tuesday night q dance was given is
farm house near Battery R )ck. Among
those who attended was John Blsir,s Bell
partisan, and Joe Hugelston, relative of
the OdhaIns. Bill Frsley. who removed
Covert was also among the spectators.
1out O'Clock In the morning the
festivities terminated by the report of
pistol and Hugelston staggered back
against the wall, while Blair advanced on
him with weapon. Before the aggressor
c. uld fire sgsin Hugelston spraug upon
hi \
LIKE TIGER,
ard during the struggle that ensued the
lights were extinguished. Half dozen
more shots were fred and the dancers
rushed panic-stricken out Of the house.
Ten minutes after the first
pistol shot al was quiet sgain, and half
dozen Of the young men returned. They
lighted lanterns and found two corpses
twined together on the floor. Hugelston
had been shot twice through the body,
but had succeeded in drawing a knife and
tie result Of his awful work was seen in
twelve wounds on Blsir's body. The in
quest exonerated others from blame.